Bitter
by Ten Thousand Words
Summary: After ten years of silence, Sasuke returns to make amends. A story of love, redemption, and forgiveness told in 100-word drabbles. SasuFemNaru.
1. What the Eyes Cannot Unsee

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**Summary: **After ten years of silence, Sasuke returns to make amends. A story of love, redemption, and forgiveness told in 100-word drabbles. SasuFemNaru.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Bitter **

_by: Ten Thousand Words_

**Chapter 1: What the Eyes Cannot Unsee**

She thought it would be easier after having not seen or heard from him in ten years. But it was hard. Just as hard. Even harder. She thought the words would slip out easily, the words she had recited to herself over and over in the mirror just in case she would see him once again.

Instead, her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth as she watched Sasuke kiss the life out of a girl he would never care about. Naruto's grip tightened around her keys before she entered her own apartment and closed the door behind her.

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**Words:** 100


	2. Like One Thousand Poisoned Needles

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 2: And It Hits Like One Thousand Poisoned Needles To the Heart**

Naruto's keys slipped from her fingers, dropping to the wooden floor with a resonating _thunk_. She took in a deep breath, then exhaled, before inhaling once again.

And finally, she screamed.

It was the type of scream that could pierce right through your heart.

Unforgettable.

Raw.

A scream that experienced loss.

A scream that yearned for more.

A screamed that begged for something she could never have.

She ignored the banging on her walls as she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Sakura's number.

"Naruto?" Sakura's tired voice answered.

"He's back, Sakura-chan." Naruto whispered and the tears wouldn't stop.

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**Words: **100


	3. A True Friend

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 3: A True Friend**

Naruto opened the door to Sakura's soft knock and was greeted with a large tub of cookies and cream ice cream, two bowls, and two spoons. Naruto managed to give her a small smile as she stepped aside and allowed Sakura into the apartment. She watched as her long-time friend waded toward the living room, lie the ice cream, bowls and spoons on the table in front of the sofa, and then sit comfortably on the couch. She patted a cushion next to her, beckoning Naruto to sit and formed the way she'd felt into actual sentences, no screaming allowed.

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**Words: **100


	4. Confessions

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 4: Confessions**

"Is there something wrong with me, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked pitiously, scraping some ice cream into a spoon and putting it in her mouth, feeling an immediate comfort from the sweet taste. "It's been ten years, TEN YEARS, and I'm still not over that…that JERK!"

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you, Naruto," Sakura reassured.

Naruto only laughed dryly. Lord, she was pathetic. Letting the spoon drop into the unfinished bowl of ice cream, she craned her head back and stared at the ceiling in silence and quiet realization.

"…Sakura, I'm not over Sasuke...and I don't think I'll ever be."

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**Words: **100


	5. The Hesitant Shadow

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 5: The Hesitant Shadow**

Sakura's arm tightened around the bowls and spoons she held close to her chest. Her green eyes narrowed as they focused on the shadowed feet she could see in front of Naruto's apartment door. Five years ago, she would have opened the door and snapped at Sasuke, demanding to know why he dared to return to Konoha when he had already made his decision another five years prior. But, after all these years, she no longer wanted a reason why. Didn't care for one in the least.

_Did you come to make Naruto happy? Or are you running away again?_

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**Words:** 100


	6. Idle

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 6: Idle**

Naruto didn't bother turning around to say good-bye when she heard Sakura leaving the apartment. And pretty much stayed idle, on the couch, for a little longer than necesarry because she caught a glimpse of the picture she stubbornly refused to look at for the past ten years.

A picture of her and Sasuke on that snowy day in Konoha, hot chocolate in hand, a large smile brightening her face, Sasuke's small grin…

She snorted, running a hand through her blonde hair, and then sat up and stretched.

_Kami-sama_, she thought, _please don't let our paths cross. I'm not ready._

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**Words:** 100


	7. Purple Hyacinths

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 7: Purple Hyacinths**

"For you, madam," Sai greeted, handing Naruto a large bouquet of purple hyacinths.

Naruto raised a brow, adjusting the papers in her hand to make room for the gift. "…Flowers? Who sent me flowers?"

Sai shrugged. "'Twas on your desk as soon as I stepped into the classroom."

"Hn."

"I tried calling you so we could hang out," Sai began.

"Umm…I was kind of…distracted last night, Sai. We could hang out tonight if you'd like." Naruto offered, sending a smile in Sai's direction.

Sai nodded and promised to meet her after work as Naruto's curious gaze focused on the flowers.

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**Words:** 100


	8. Symbolism

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 8: Symbolism**

"Who's asking you for forgiveness, Naruto-sensei?"

A blonde brow arched. She looked up to see her favorite student. "Huh?"

"The flowers…"

"Oh, what about the flowers, Sato-chan?"

Sato's pale blue eyes narrowed a bit. He shoved his hands into his pockets. "They're hyacinths. Purple hyacinths are asking for forgiveness."

Naruto's lips thinned, for a moment, as she leaned back in her desk chair. She crossed her arms over her chest, studying the flowers, and then turned her gaze back to her student.

_…Forgiveness?_

Naruto almost laughed.

Grabbing the bouquet, she dropped the flowers into the trash bin beside her desk.

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**Words:** 100


	9. Conversations at Night

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 9: Conversations at Night**

"Sasuke's back…"

"So I've heard."

"He gave me purple hyacinths,"

"Really?"

"Yep."

"…What did you do with them?"

"I threw them out."

"Ah."

Blue eyes searched the sky above them, counting the limitless stars. Sai watched his friend silently, admiring how the full moon glowed softly against Naruto's skin. Something in his eyes changed to allow a more graceful look to appear on his features.

"He... never deserved you, Naruto." Sai said softly.

"I know."

"He left," Sai pressed.

"…I know."

"You deserve better than that and Sasuke doesn't deserve you."

"I know." she whispered. _Tell that to my heart._

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**Words:** 100


	10. Rush

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 10: Rush**

Naruto rushed up the four flights of stairs. It was late, yes, but it was around this time that she would hear Sasuke exit his apartment to do…whatever.

_Please, please, PLEASE let me get to my apartment before I have to see that jerk!_

She slid, made a left, and quickly fished her keys out of her jacket pocket. Hearing a door open from somewhere her clumsy fingers caused the keys to drop out of her hand and she swore loudly.

Ignoring the food that fell from her paper bag, she entered the apartment and slammed the door behind her.

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**Words:** 100


	11. Green Apples

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 11: Green Apples**

"Mind telling me why we're sitting here picking up green apples when we could be in your apartment, in your bed, doing something else?"

Sasuke ignored the girl, his dark eyes scanning the dimly lit hall for the last two apples he'd seen fall from Naruto's bag.

He found one, but the other –

"Hmm, these are pretty good," the young woman managed to say while chewing.

A sigh escaped his lips and Sasuke rose to his full height, handing the bunch of apples to her. He pointed to the door opposite her.

"Give these to the woman who lives there."

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**Words:** 100


	12. Reality Check

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 12: Reality Check**

"Sasuke, wait," the woman said as she watched Sasuke walk in the direction of his apartment. "Is something wrong?"

He didn't answer and the woman all but lifted her brow when Sasuke stared longingly at the door opposite them.

She heard a deep growl before Sasuke barked, "When you're done, gather your shit and get out of my apartment. Don't bother coming back either."

"S-Sasuke…"

Immediately a dark glare was sent in her direction and a shiver traveled through her body.

_Why is he acting like this? _"Did I do something wrong?"

"You ate something that didn't belong to you."

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**Words:** 100


	13. Maki

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters are written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 13: Maki**

The sudden knock on the door almost made Naruto jump out of her skin. She didn't mean to eavesdrop; it was just hard for her to move upon hearing the sound of Sasuke's voice. Naruto felt heat rise to her cheeks as she answered the door.

"Here," someone said, dropping a bag of apples into Naruto's arms, "you dropped them."

"Thanks a lot, umm…"

"Maki. The name's Maki."

"…Maki…"

Silence.

Maki bit her lip. "You…didn't hear that did you?"

"No! Of course not," Naruto lied.

"Doesn't matter if you did; he was a bastard anyway."

Naruto empathized with her completely.

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**Words: **100


	14. Invitation

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 14: Invitation**

"You know if you have nowhere to go…you can stay with me…"

A brow arched. "You don't _know _me."

"True. But we both know Sasuke. We can bad mouth him if that makes you feel any better."

"It would. And after, we could talk about how great he is in bed!"

"I'd rather not talk about that. We're supposed to be bad mouthing, remember?"

Maki sniffed childishly and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, yeah. By the way, I didn't catch your name…"

"Oh! Um, Naruto."

"Na-ruto?"

"Yes."

"Well, Naruto, I'd love to take you up on that offer."

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**Words: **100


	15. Something In Common

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 15: Something In Common**

It happened instantaneously, Naruto zeroing in on Maki as she walked through the door with a limited edition Ramen Noodle Swirl-Swirl suitcase.

"Kyaa!" Naruto squealed. "A limited edition Ramen Noodle Swirl-Swirl suitcase! I can't believe you have one. Hell, I don't even have one!"

Maki couldn't stop the smile that stretched her lips. She watched in amusement as Naruto cooed over her suitcase and said, "I didn't know you were a fan of _Swirl-Swirl_ merchandise."

"A fan? Are you kidding me? My room is practically filled with _Swirl-Swirl_ products!" Naruto's blue eyes widened. Maki's smile only widened in pure amusement.

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**Words:** 100


	16. Unexpected Question

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 16: Unexpected Question**

"Feel free to help yourself to whatever you want in the kitchen. What's mine is yours," Naruto said.

Maki nodded, tallying off a box in her mental checklist of what Naruto had told her during the tour of her apartment.

"Oh, and the guest bathroom is down the hall to the left and the laundry room is adjacent to that. And I think that's it," Naruto continued, she turned on her heel to face Maki, a bright smile on her face, "Do you have any questions?"

"Yes; It's off topic, but was Sasuke Uchiha someone who was special to you?"

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**Words: **100


	17. The Almost Rehearsed Answer

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 17: The Almost Rehearsed Answer**

Maki had never seen a smile disappear as fast as she witnessed Naruto's. Was it even there? For a brief moment she thought Naruto was going to kick her out for asking something so simple. She only wanted to know because of the way Sasuke looked longingly at her door a couple of hours earlier. And now she sort of regretted it.

Maki didn't know what it was, but she definitely hit an open wound when she asked that question – a large one.

"Sasuke was…he…he was…"

"Naruto…"

"Sasuke believed in doing what was best for him and I supported him."

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**Words: **100


	18. Unacceptable

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 18: Unacceptable**

_Liar._

At first Maki was taken aback by the thought. Naruto didn't appear to be a liar and yet…

She wondered how many times you had to tell yourself something before it finally proved true. Or at least became believeable to oneself.

_Liar!_ The thought rang once more.

Maki bit her tongue to hold back the comment she wanted to say.

_"You ate something that didn't belong to you."_

_"When you're done gather your shit and get out of my apartment. Don't bother coming back either."_

_The both of you are liars and you can't even try to deny it._

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**Words:** 100


	19. His Routine

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 19: His Routine**

Three hours, fifty-nine minutes, thirty-nine seconds. And he still could not bring himself to knock on the door. He narrowed his eyes, settling to glare at the door, because all of this would be much easier if the door wasn't around. If there wasn't a barrier prohibiting him from seeing his biggest mistake and one true clarity.

…_She probably wouldn't even forgive me_…

Sasuke cursed before vanishing, leaving a small cloud behind him.

A petal, from the puple hyacinths he carried, landed gently on her doorstep.

Naruto felt her heart twist when she opened the door a few seconds later.

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**Words:** 100


	20. Counting Chickens

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 20: Counting Chickens**

She was expecting flowers on her desk as she walked into the classroom that morning, not Karin sitting at her desk and ruining the day with the smug smile she wore on her face.

"I tried to stop her, Naruto, but you know how Uzumaki's are," Sai all but greeted.

Naruto held back a laugh and then shook her head. "Good morning to you too, Sai."

Laying the papers on her desk, Naruto turned to finally focus on her cousin. "What do you want, Karin?"

Karin's glasses glinted in the morning light. "To talk to you about Sasuke of course."

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**Words:** 100


	21. Karin's Request

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 21:** **Karin's Request**

Naruto cleared that up quickly. "There's nothing to talk about. Now would you please," Naruto moved her arms in a gesture that told Karin to kindly remove her ass from her seat. She was already getting irritated – Karin's presence just did that to her.

Karin rose to her full height and then reached out to gently touch Naruto's shoulder. "…Please, cousin."

"I have a class to teach."

"Naruto." Karin's voice was firm.

"…"

"Uzumaki." Naruto sucked in a breath when Karin's finger trailed down her arm. She was absorbing her chakra!

"Talk to Sasuke…or listen to him…for me, okay, Naruto?"

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**Words:** 100


	22. Hint

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 22: Hint**

Naruto growled and snatched her arm from Karin's touch. "Hop off, Karin! I said no."

"I don't understand why you have to be so difficult!"

"Difficult?!" Naruto shook her head. "I'm not talking about this here." _Get out!_ Her blue eyes burned.

Karin's red eyes narrowed and as if she weren't in a silent feud with her baby cousin, she put up her hands in mock surrender and strolled out of the classroom.

She looked over her shoulder then added, "Leave your apartment door open from time to time; don't know who's gonna drop by."

"Like hell, Karin! Now leave."

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**Words:** 100


	23. The Truth

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 23: The Truth**

Before Naruto could raise her hand to knock, the door swung inward. Naruto offered an apologetic smile, bringing into Karin's line of view a brown paper bag filled with mini banana-nut muffins.

"I'm on a lunch break, you know," Karin informed, accepting her favorite snack. She traversed to her own desk and sat in the large chair behind it. She moved her hips to make room for Naruto.

"Alright, tell me what's wrong." She bit into a muffin.

"I'm scared."

"And?"

"I'm scared because I'm hurt; I don't want to get my hopes up just so I can fail, again."

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**Words: **100


	24. Taking Chances

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 24: Taking Chances**

Naruto chewed on her bottom lip, as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, and for the nth time she wondered if she was pretty enough to get him to look at her. Shaky fingers combed through long blonde curls and she took in a deep breath. Making her way toward the living room couch, she sat and breathed deeply once more. She could do this.

She had to.

"Gah! I had such a long day today." Maki moaned, halting in her steps when she saw Naruto on the couch.

"Hey, Maki, leave the door open for the night."

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**Words: **100


	25. Uncertain

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

**A/N:** All chapters will be written in 100-word drabbles.

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**Chapter 25: Uncertain**

"Er, Naruto…are you sure about that?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Umm, I don't know, maybe the thought of someone coming in and potentially robbing us or worse."

"That's not going to happen." Naruto reassured Maki and herself. _Especially if Sasuke is here._

_"Sasuke has always had his eyes on you. There's no reason to be scared."_

_"Doesn't change the fact that he left, Karin."_

"Are you expecting somebody? I can close the door and leave it unlocked instead."

"I…" Naruto fingered them hem of the new shirt she wore. "I don't know."

_"Doesn't change the fact that he left, Karin."_

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**Words: **100


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